While diversity of marine life tends to be higher in the tropics, the overall biomass tends to be greater in colder waters, with much of the biomass composed of huge "mats" formed by microbes. One of the greatest areas of biodiversity ranges from the coast of Southeast Asia to the northern coast of Australia, encompassing the waters around Indonesia and the Philippines. Dr Ausubel likened it to a "Golden Triangle", one more felicitous than the other "Golden Triangle" of Southeast Asia.

While the Census of Marine Life was the first of its kind, means were suggested for estimating former populations of marine life, including examinations of Roman mosaics, cod fishery records, and whaling records. Many of the most prized fish species are long-lived predators, and overfishing has resulted in declining sizes. If such fishing trends continue, then only really small fish will survive. Smaller fish fare better- Dr Ausubel showed an image of a school of herring of the coast of Maine comprised of an estimated 250 million fish, a school of fish the size of Manhattan.

In the Q&A, some bastard asked if there had been any "pushback" on the part of the commercial fishing industry. Dr Ausubel indicated that, while there are certainly bad players, the majority of commercial fishers were cooperative, seeing that sound policies are the key to long-term survival. Another individual asked about the BP oil spill in the gulf, and, while the long-term implications of the spill are unkown, the majority of the "cleanup" was due to bacterial action. The microbes have done a better job than the bipedal primates. After the lecture, I chatted with Dr Ausubel (a genuinely nice guy) about certain possibilities, such as explosions of squid populations due to overfishing of piscine predators, and the exploding jellyfish populations due to the decline of such predators as leatherback turtles.

The lecture, the fifth anniversary lecture, in fact (the first ever SSC lecture was also by a marine biologist), was amazing, and the visual presentation knocked it out of the park, so to speak.

Note: Damn, how could I have forgotten the carnivorous sponges? Seems that some sponges eat crustaceans, not just brain cells. Also, and more importantly, do check out the gorgeous Census of Marine Life website (linked above), what a glorious way to spend some online time.

10 comments:

Okay, I forgive you for not getting this post out STAT-that's alotta links! All of which will have to wait until tomorrow for moi. When the kids are around, my brain doesn't focus on anything else. (all these years I thought I was dumb. Turns out, I just can't concentrate with 4 kids barking out orders at me)

So far, my favourite part of this post is .. when you linked to my blog and when you called the guy asking a question at the Q & A " some bastard". I'm sure I'll find more tid bits tomorrow when I re-read this sans enfants around-eh-vous. (I'm Canadian therefore bilingual) :)

In the Q&A, some bastard asked if there had been any "pushback" on the part of the commercial fishing industry. Dr Ausubel indicated that, while there are certainly bad players, the majority of commercial fishers were cooperative, seeing that sound policies are the key to long-term survival.

Not been my experience following the Grand Banks debates up north of yous.

Okay... I'm back and having read most of the links, I've collected my thoughts.Here they are...

~ Southern Elephant Seals with Frickin' laser beams does NOT have the same ring to it as Sharks with Frickin' laser beams..

~ I mistakenly thought that the perverted Bluefin Tuna (any relation to the Blueball Tuna??) were having an orgy until I realized that I need to press play as it was a demonstration of the 600day+ cycle. My bad.

I thought that the Southeast Asian golden triangle would be something dirty. Me so corny!! :)

~Squat lobster for din din anyone??

~ I really need to teach myself to sew STAT if I'm going to get those Yeti crabs out for Xmas!

~ Zombi Sponges?? And here I was thinking Spongebob was sooo cute! Good thing I like Plankton the best I guess.

Anyhow, that was a wonderful blog post. Somehow, through all of my snark, I do believe I may have learned something! I'll impress all of my no mind friends and family by whipping out a few facts over the weekend. :)

You know what I'm struck by? How much they look like insects. I mean, I know that's like, duh...'cuz they are the insects of the sea...which is one of the reasons I balk at eating them sometimes...but they really do have these remarkable insect-like shapes. Even more than the regular crabs and lobsters. Plus, the hairy-ness, which is spider-like. Fascinating.

About Me

The Big Bad Bald Bastard is a character played by Monsieur _______ of the City of Y______. The role of the Bastard is a handy one to play on subways, walking the streets, and in dive-bars, when being a nerdy, bookish sort is not to one's advantage.